MMA News
Michael Bisping weighs in on a potential title fight between Conor McGregor and Charles Oliveira: “He could come back and knock out Charles Oliveira”
Harry Kettle - December 15, 2021
UFC commentator Michael Bisping believes Conor McGregor has a genuine chance at beating UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. Last Saturday night at UFC 269, Charles Oliveira submitted Dustin Poirier to successfully retain the UFC lightweight title. It was a fascinating main event encounter but in the end, “Do Bronx” overwhelmed Poirier and secured the finish fairly comfortably in the third round.
Photo | Francis Ngannou appears to have dropped some muscle mass ahead of his title fight with Ciryl Gane at UFC 270
Christopher Taylor - December 14, 2021
Francis Ngannou appears to have dropped some muscle mass ahead of his title unification bout with Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. The former training partners, Ngannou (16-3 MMA) and Gane (10-0 MMA), will collide on January 22 in Anaheim with the title of “baddest man on the planet” up for grabs.
Unranked champ no more: Sean O'Malley enters bantamweight top-15 after UFC 269
Cole Shelton - December 14, 2021
Sean O’Malley can no longer call himself the unranked champion. In the lead-up to UFC 269, O’Malley created merch that said he was the unranked champ. He also joked that he doesn’t want to fight ranked opponents as he only wants to fight unranked opponents until he gets paid more.
Colby Covington says Khamzat Chimaev's hype 'would get halted in a very violent way' if they were to fight
Cole Shelton - December 14, 2021
Colby Covington thinks he would beat Khamzat Chimaev badly if they were to fight. Ever since Chimaev had two fights in 10 days on Fight Island he has become a massive star. The hype only continued after he knocked out Gerald Meerschaert with one punch and a year later, submitted Li Jingliang at UFC 267 to cement himself as a contender. Yet for Covington, he thinks he would halt all of Chimaev’s hype and beat him badly, and possibly derail his career.
Chris Daukaus expects to 'outwork' Derrick Lewis en route to a stoppage win, eyes Stipe Miocic next
Cole Shelton - December 14, 2021
Chris Daukaus didn’t expect to be headlining a UFC event or fighting Derrick Lewis in his fifth UFC fight. Daukaus is set to face Lewis in the main event of UFC Vegas 45 and when he heard the news he was stoked. He does admit it caught him by surprise but he is now eager for the challenge.
Report | Nate Diaz has contract extended by the UFC
Susan Cox - December 14, 2021
UFC star Nate Diaz will reportedly be sticking around after having his current contract extended by Dana White and company. That news come from MMA Journalist Ariel Helwani who reported the following news via a post on his Substack page.
Tyron Woodley explains why he didn’t go for the kill after hurting Jake Paul in their first fight
Susan Cox - December 14, 2021
Former UFC champion Tyron Woodley knows he came close to finishing Jake Paul in their first encounter back in August. Woodley (0-1) and Paul (4-0) are set to rematch on December 18th, this after their first bout ended in a controversial split decision win for the YouTuber.
Henry Cejudo responds to callout from former opponent Dominick Cruz
Susan Cox - December 14, 2021
Henry Cejudo has responded after receiving a callout from his former opponent Dominick Cruz. Cejudo (16-2 MMA) and Cruz (24-3 MMA) previously collided at UFC 249 in May of 2020, with ‘Triple C’ successfully defending his bantamweight crown by way of a second round TKO.
Dana White explodes after Israel Adesanya implies his rematch with Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 is not a done deal
Harry Kettle - December 14, 2021
UFC president Dana White has reacted angrily to Israel Adesanya’s implication that his rematch with Robert Whittaker isn’t a done deal. Dana White has often been involved in verbal spats with fighters and, most of the time, the exchanges take place indirectly. This serves as yet another example of that with Israel Adesanya using a “cap” symbol to indicate he believes Dana White and the UFC are lying about his Robert Whittaker rematch being signed, sealed and delivered. The pair are currently set to clash at UFC 271 but Adesanya seems to disagree with the current state of play.
Julianna Pena shoots down claims that Amanda Nunes quit at UFC 269: “She didn’t quit, she was getting choked”
Harry Kettle - December 14, 2021
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena disagrees with those who say Amanda Nunes quit at UFC 269 last weekend. In one of the biggest upsets in mixed martial arts history, Julianna Pena submitted Amanda Nunes on Saturday night to break the incredible winning streak of “The Lioness”. The victory was hailed by many as being one of the best moments of the year for the UFC and beyond that, the resilience of Pena was also heavily praised.
Just Scrap Radio Ep. 62 with Chris Daukaus, Stephen Thompson, Diego Ferreira, and Andre Ewell
Cole Shelton - December 14, 2021
The 62nd episode and final episode of 2021 of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 45. We’re first joined by one-half of the main event and seventh-ranked UFC heavyweight, Chris Daukaus (2:19). Next, fifth-ranked UFC welterweight, Stephen Thompson (20:24) joins the show. 12th-ranked lightweight, Diego Ferreira (37:08) then comes on. UFC featherweight, Andre Ewell (50:39) closes out the program.
Colby Covington wasn’t surprised to see Dustin Poirier “quit” and “leave his neck open” at UFC 269
Harry Kettle - December 14, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington has said he wasn’t surprised to see Dustin Poirier “quit” at UFC 269. Back in the day, Colby Covington and Dustin Poirier were teammates and friends during their time together at American Top Team. Alas, as the years have gone on their relationship has somewhat soured, with Covington throwing a parade of shots towards Poirier which has prompted various responses from “The Diamond”.
Islam Makhachev pokes fun at Conor McGregor for thinking he deserves the next lightweight title shot
Cole Shelton - December 13, 2021
Islam Makhachev has taken a shot at Conor McGregor after the Irishman claimed he would be fighting for the title in his next fight. After Charles Oliveira beat Dustin Poirier at UFC 269, McGregor took to social media to say he will be fighting the Brazilian for the belt in his next fight. Of course, Justin Gaethje and the winner of Makhachev-Dariush are in line for the belt.
Julianna Pena 'would love' rematch with Valentina Shevchenko at flyweight
Drake Riggs - December 13, 2021
Julianna Pena hopes to topple another all-time great after defeating Amanda Nunes at UFC 269. Nunes went unbeaten for six years and 12 fights until meeting Pena this past Saturday night. For Pena, however, she’d tasted defeat as recently as October 2020 when faced with former featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie. Before that, Pena’s most recent loss came in 2017 against a currently dominant flyweight queen, Valentina Shevchenko.
Chael Sonnen claims Amanda Nunes 'quit' against Julianna Pena at UFC 269, says loss was '100 percent mental'
Cole Shelton - December 13, 2021
Chael Sonnen believes Amanda Nunes quit against Julianna Pena at UFC 269. In the lead-up to UFC 269, Sonnen was one of the few analysts that were picking Pena to pull off the massive upset against Nunes. Many expected the Brazilian to run through Pena and in the first round it was looking like it would be that way.
Kevin Lee to sign with Eagle Fighting Championship, reveals Khabib Nurmagomedov
Cole Shelton - December 13, 2021
Kevin Lee has found a new home. Lee was recently shockingly released by the UFC at the end of November and many were eager to see where he would sign. Although many thought he would sign with PFL or Bellator, Khabib Nurmagomeodv has revealed Lee is close to signing with his promotion, Eagle Fighting Championship and it will be official in a few days.
What's next for the stars of UFC 269?
Cole Shelton - December 13, 2021
The final UFC pay-per-view of 2021 went down on Saturday as the promotion returned to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for a stacked UFC 269 card. The event saw two titles on the line as Charles Oliveira was defending his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier. The co-main event saw Amanda Nunes return to bantamweight to battle Julianna Pena. UFC 269 ended up being a phenomenal card as in the main event it was Oliveira winning by third-round submission after being dropped early. In the co-main event, Pena pulled off a massive upset as she submitted Nunes to dethrone the long-reigning champ. Now, after UFC 269 here is what I think should be next for the four fighters involved in the title fights.
Conor McGregor calls for lightweight title fight against Charles Oliveira
Susan Cox - December 13, 2021
Conor McGregor has his sights set on a lightweight title fight with Charles Oliveira for his Octagon return. McGregor (22-6 MMA) has been on the sidelines ever since suffering a broken leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.